Anton Gerashchenko: Freelance Herald, Realtor, and Aspiring Smuggler
Anton Gerashchenko is a spontaneous figure and well-known in Ukraine. His comments on various events have always been characterized by their promptness and dubious reliability. He is a member of parliament and a freelance adviser to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov (read more about him in the article). Arsen Avakov: The criminal past of the Minister of Internal Affairs) has repeatedly become the object of various kinds of jokes and even attacks by Russian pranksters.
Recently, there was an alleged assassination attempt on him, so Skelet.Org became interested in how valuable this character is both for the police and the country as a whole.
Anton Gerashchenko - The Brave Realtor
Like his patron, Anton Yuryevich Gerashchenko arrived in Kyiv from Kharkiv, where he was born in 1979. Having received an economics degree from the local KhNUE by 2000, he also managed to work at Kharkivoblenergo during this period.
By 2002, he had already managed to secure a seat on the Kharkiv City Council, and it was from this period, according to various sources, that he began earning serious money. His appointment as head of the Krasnograd District Administration in 2005 only intensified this process.
For example, one investigative report revealed that Gerashchenko and his partner were involved in allocating land plots, registering them in the names of proxies, and later selling or leasing them to commercial entities. Even last year, Gerashchenko and his partners earned over 1 million hryvnias in monthly rental income from over 20 properties. Moreover, some of the property is located in the LPR/DPR (!).
This contrasts sharply with his 2015 declaration. For example, his only listed real estate assets were three modest-sized apartments in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
Money does not smell
In domestic media, the Avakov-Gerashchenko duo is also mentioned for possible involvement in smuggling.
This is due to the fact that the final recipient of the profits from the schemes implemented by one of the major coal suppliers from the uncontrolled territory, Roman Maglevanny, is Vitaly Kropachev.
In the photo: Tornado Battalion
In turn, Kropachev began collaborating with Avakov and Gerashchenko in 2014 and, according to some reports, was the initiator of the creation of a battalion, "Shakhtarsk," which later gained notoriety, including under the name "Tornado."
Anton Gerashchenko. "Crust" for the word
There's a well-known saying: "The loudest cry of 'Stop thief' is from the thief himself." This is entirely applicable to the subject of our article, as Gerashchenko himself has accused many people of smuggling: the SBU, the prosecutor's office. He also criticized the WOG company, which allegedly smuggled diesel fuel from occupied Crimea. Perhaps these incidents did indeed occur, but the accuser hasn't provided any conclusive evidence.
This seems entirely natural, as the Avakov-Gerashchenko duo has long operated according to a well-established pattern: an event occurs, and it is quickly followed by a bold comment from Gerashchenko on behalf of the police. However, in the event of misinformation, he bears no responsibility for what he says, as he enjoys parliamentary immunity.
This approach is also convenient for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, since Gerashchenko is a freelance employee and can at the same time provide assistance to the department in his capacity as a member of the parliamentary committee on national security and defense, which is headed by another associate of Avakov, Sergei Pashinsky (Read more about it in the article: Serhiy Pashinsky: Thief, Raider, Fraudster, and MP).
Pictured: Vyacheslav Khimikus. He was shot by Pashinsky.
Incidentally, in the Pashinsky case, Avakov's advisor also made another absurd statement. He claimed that the random passerby shot by the MP on the road had connections and enjoyed significant support from Russia.
By this logic, any unarmed man with whom someone in power, in a state of insanity, wants to sort things out with a gun, is a potential Kremlin agent.
Incidentally, the wounded man had to pay for the surgery out of his own pocket. Pashinsky's assistance was limited to 900 hryvnias.
However, the story of the alleged Russian secret service mercenaries plotting an assassination attempt on Gerashchenko himself was particularly amusing. The entire country was shown a video, as well as conversations between two men who, by all appearances, appeared to be drug addicts.
The neighboring country probably did not have the opportunity to train more professional saboteurs.
Most likely, such performances are shown to the public for PR purposes for the "People's Front" and as a further reminder that the under-reformed police force is at least producing some results.
However, if we assume that the Avakov-Gerashchenko duo is skimming the profits from smuggling and has no interest in returning the uncontrolled regions to Ukraine, then the mantra "The trail leads to the Kremlin" will be used at every opportunity. After all, this can only further expand this business.
Pavel Viktorov, for Skelet.Org
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